Awake Too Long
by AlElizabeth
Summary: Set Season 14. Everyone sees Sam to needs to get some sleep but only Dean can do something about it.


Sam locked eyes with Mary as he drank from the largest mug of coffee he could find in the Bunker.

"What?" he asked his mother.

"When was the last time you slept?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he assured her and smiled.

"That's not what I asked, Sam," she argued, "When did you last get some sleep?"

Sam sighed, realizing he wasn't going to get out of this until he answered.

"I had a nap yesterday," he told her.

"Really?" Mary asked, surprised, "For how long?"

"Um… well…" Sam hesitated and caught sight of Maggie and stood up.

"Maggie!" he called to the girl as she stopped in the doorway, nose in a book.

"Sam! We're not done!" Mary turned in her chair and watched as her youngest son hurried out the door with the younger hunter.

_W_

Jack sat very still. He didn't want to move and wake Sam up. The hunter was sitting beside him on the couch and had fallen asleep, his head lolling onto Jack's shoulder. They were supposed to be watching a movie- a documentary really- about monsters from Eastern Europe when Sam had dozed off.

A sudden loud noise from outside the makeshift living room started Jack and he jumped, waking Sam up. The hunter sat up and blinked, wiping a hand over his face.

"Did I fall asleep?" he asked.

Jack nodded.

"Damn it," Sam grumbled and grabbed the TV remote and rewound the video, "Where did we leave off?"

_W_

"No way, Cas!" Sam backed away from the angel, mug of coffee sloshing onto the linoleum floor as he did so, "You're not knocking me out!"

"You need to sleep," the angel argued, "You've haven't had a decent night's sleep since Dean said 'yes' to Michael."

"I'm not doing it," Sam retorted, "I'm fine."

Cas took a step forward, hand out.

"Don't touch me!"

"It won't hurt," Castiel tried again, "It'll just help you rest."

"Cas! We need your help!" Sam heard Bobby growl from the Bunker's main room and relaxed when the angel retreated. He took a moment to gulp down some more coffee.

_W_

Dean glanced at his brother when Sam covered his mouth with a fist as he yawned.

"You okay there, Sammy?" he asked.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine," Sam muttered, "Keep your eyes on the road."

Dean turned his attention back to driving.

"Mom told me you've only been catching catnaps," Dean said.

"So?" Sam asked, defensive, "What's wrong with that?"

"She said you've been doing that _instead _of actually sleeping."

Sam shrugged.

"Jack said you feel asleep on his shoulder the other day," Dean continued, "And that you drooled on his shirt."

"I did not!" Sam argued.

"You didn't drool," Dean agreed, "I made that up… but you did fall asleep."

"The movie was boring," Sam lied.

"You refused Cas' help to get some rest," Dean continued.

"He wanted to knock me out, Dean," Sam bristled, "I don't exactly call that 'help'."

"We're just worried, Sam," Dean continued, they were nearing the Bunker now and he slowed down.

"You don't have to be," Sam told his brother.

Dean glanced at him, "We're never not going to worry about each other."

Sam sighed, "What do you want from me?"

Dean didn't say anything until they pulled into the gravel parking area in front of the Bunker. It was dark- the middle of the night- and dark. Dean turned the Impala's engine off and they sat in the gloom.

"What are you trying to prove?" Dean asked.

Sam frowned, "What? I'm not trying to prove anything."

"Sure seems like it to me," his brother argued, "Ignoring your own needs to focus on anything else."

"I need to make sure everyone is safe," Sam told him, "I need to be around if anyone gets into trouble."

"Sam, you can't be on all the time," Dean told him gently, "You know that. I get it, I do. You ended up being a kind of leader for all the hunters who came over here but you can't do it by yourself. You shouldn't have to do it by yourself."

"I didn't have much of a choice," Sam muttered, not unkindly, "You were gone."

"Why didn't you let Bobby help? Or Cas or Mom? Why take it all on by yourself?"

Sam didn't say anything for a long moment. He lifted his head and peered out the window before turning to his brother.

"It's gonna sound stupid but… I just… I feel responsible for them," Sam confessed, "I feel as though it's my fault they're here and-"

"They wanted to come," Dean interrupted, "We didn't force them. And it is not your fault."

Sam didn't reply.

"Say it," Dean prompted, "Say 'it's not my fault'."

"What?" Sam asked.

"Do it," Dean continued, "I want to hear you say it."

Sam sighed, "Dean…"

"I'm not letting you out until you said it," Dean told him.

"It's not my fault," Sam mumbled.

"Louder," Dean barked, "So I can hear you!"

"It's not my fault!" Sam snapped.

"Louder!" Dean encouraged.

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT!" Sam shouted.

"There you go," Dean grinned in the darkness.

"Can I get out of the car now?" Sam asked.

"One more thing," Dean told him and Sam paused with his hand on the door.

"What now?"

"When we get inside you are going to your room and are going to sleep," Dean told him.

"Dean," Sam began but his brother shook his head.

"I mean it Sam," Dean told him and reached out, grabbing his upper arm firmly yet gently, "You need to get some rest."

There was a pause before Sam spoke again.

"Okay Dean," he said quietly, "But, can you do something for me?"

"What Sam?"

"Can you sit with me until I fall asleep?" Sam asked in a timid voice.

Dean smiled, "Yeah, Sammy, I can do that."

**Author's Note:**

**Just a little fluffy fic I wanted to write. **

**Title comes from a song by Rise Against. **

**Please take a moment to leave a review if you enjoyed this story. **


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